Dear John,

So, there' you have it. Nigel Farage has chosen to stand for election in Clacton rather than take a job with his big orange buddy, Donald Trump.

It’s likely that Trumps recent conviction on 34 felonies had some influence on Farage’s decision. But there’s likely a deeper reason too. Farage knows that right now, the UK’s broken political system is highly vulnerable to exploitation – there’s power to be taken and money to be made. In its current state, the UK’s democratic system is a demagogue’s paradise.

Farage knows this better than anyone. He represents the UK arm of a shadowy global right-wing network. They specialise in using big data and dark money to undermine free and fair elections. (Anyone remember the Brexit referendum?!) If there’s one thing they understand, it’s how to leverage a broken democracy for personal gain.

First there’s poor media regulation. Despite Reform winning only two council seats out of 2658 in May’s local elections, Britain’s broken media plasters Farage’s face all over our TV screens at every opportunity. His inflammatory and misleading claims are awfully good at generating views and clicks…driving revenue across the UK media. It’s a match made in heaven (for Farage).

Then there’s our poorly regulated social media. He’ll use it tell disillusioned Conservative voters exactly what they want to hear. He’ll tell them that Sunak just wasn’t cruel, nationalist, or vindictive enough, and that we need to go further. He’ll use the same big data-driven tactics that stole the Brexit referendum to get his message to key people at key times. And our toothless regulators will not be able to stop him.

And behind all that there’s the dark money. That global far-right network has the patronage of many unseemly (and ludicrously wealthy) characters. Farage’s escapades in the states have certainly put him in contact with enough American money to supercharge a campaign – and that’s putting aside the Russian oligarchs and other foreign donors he seems to be in personal awe of. Big money brings political power and, these days, political power brings big money.

But we shouldn’t lose heart. There is still hope.

With Labour so strong in the polls, this election can’t be anything more than a dry run for Farage. He has admitted that his objective this election is simply to beat the Conservatives and become His Majesty’s Official Opposition. It is at the 2029 general election that he believes he can become Prime Minister.

THAT is why we must persuade Labour to act in their first term to repair and reinforce our democratic system. If they don’t, there is every likelihood that Farage and his shadowy backers will succeed with their plan. And we won’t be able to say we weren’t warned.

Open Britain’s mission over the coming Parliament is to build an irresistible public demand for democratic reform…for tackling media bias, shady campaign financing, and political disinformation. We need to make Labour see the danger and to act to stop it.

The expected Labour government can and must take the actions necessary to avoid leaving us exposed again in 2029. Britain shouldn’t be a playground for people like Nigel Farage. We have five years to build the legal, regulatory and social safeguards we so desperately need.

But we can’t do it without your support. By contributing to our crowdfunder, you can do your bit to ensure our fight is as effective as it can be. A penny in the pot today might well save a pound of pain in 2029.
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Many thanks,

Mark Kieran

CEO, Open Britain
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